Applying for a primary school place in 2012/13

Please tell us what you think about our website, we welcome your feedback.

Customer notice

Due to essential maintenance some of our web services will be unavailable between these times 7pm Friday 25 May and 5pm Sunday 27 May 2012.

In case of any emergencies please see our Facebook or Twitter pages.

If your child was born between 1 September 2007 and 31 August 2008, they are due to start school in September 2012 and you must apply for a school place by 15 January 2012. You can still apply after this date but it will be considered a late application. The timetable below provides details of how this will affect your application.

There is NO automatic entry from a nursey into a school, and there is NO automatic offer of a sibling place (a place for a brother or sister). Parents of children transferring from an infant to junior school must also apply for a school place.

Timetable

Date	Action
September 2011	School admissions - Application for a primary school place 2012/13 'A parents guide to finding a primary school place' 384kb  is available. Please read this booklet before making your application. You can apply for a school place online or by completing a Application for a primary school place 2012/13 common paper application form 131kb Some foundation and aided schools with religious admissions criteria will ask you to complete a supplementary application form. These forms are available from the schools directly and must be returned to them by the closing date. Completing a supplementary form does not mean that you have made an application. You must still make an application to Wiltshire Council.
15 January 2012	Deadline - All paper and online applications must be received by 12pm (midday). If you apply after this time your application will not be considered until all those received before the deadline have been processed. This means that the outcome of your application may not be decided until the end of May 2012.
January - April 2012	The school admissions team will liaise with schools and other authorities to make sure that, where possible, parents get a single offer for the highest preference school able to offer a place.
20 April 2012	Offer day - Letters are posted first class to all parents who applied by the 15 January deadline offering them a place at one school. Online applicants will not receive an email notification of their offer. They will also be informed by letter.
10 May 2012	Deadline for parents to accept the place they have been offered. If parents don't respond by this date, we will assume that you do not want the place and it will be offered to another applicant. If you have been refused a place at your preferred school you can appeal. Waiting lists are set up.
10 May 2012	We start considering late applications and waiting lists.
From 15 June 2012	We offer spare places and any places which have become available since the 20 April offer day.
May 2012	Appeals are heard.
31 August 2012	Deadline for receiving any late applications and putting names on waiting lists. Any applications received after this date will be considered as in-year transfer applications.
September 2012	Your child starts primary school.
24 July 2012	Waiting lists are closed.

Key points

• It is the responsiblity of the parents/ carers to apply for a school place.
• You can apply for up to three schools, putting the school you want the most as your first preference. We strongly advise you to use all three preferences.
• We advise you to enter your catchment area school as one of your preferences so that there is more chance of your child being offered a place at one of your chosen schools.
• Some primary schools in Wiltshire operate as a single school but have two geographical bases. These are known as split site schools. For admission purposes, these sites are treated as separate schools so on your application you should name the site which you are applying for.
• If you live in Wiltshire and want to apply for a school place outside the county, you must still make your application to Wiltshire Council. We will pass on your application details to the relevant council where it will be considered alongside the other applications for that school.
• If you do not live in Wiltshire and want to apply for a Wiltshire school, you must make an application to your own local authority. They will then pass on your application details to us. You will not be able to use the Wiltshire online application system or Wiltshire's common paper application form. The only exception to this would be applications from children of UK service personnel.
• We will acknowledge receipt of your application. If you do not receive acknowledgement within 15 school days of returning your completed application, please contact Customer Services at Wiltshire Council on 01225 713010.

Related information

• Application forms, guides and policy documents
• Admission criteria
• Contact a neighbouring authority

Related links

• Advisory Centre for Education (ACE) - a national charity that provides advice and information to parents and carers on school based issues including admissions.

Last updated: 25 April 2012